SCOUG-HELP Mailing List Archives

<< Previous Message << >> Next Message >>

Date:	Mon, 30 Aug 2004 10:48:57 PDT7
From:	"J. R. Fox" <jr_fox@pacbell.net >
Reply-To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Help: Re: DSL Questions

Content Type: text/plain

=====================================================
If you are responding to someone asking for help who
may not be a member of this list, be sure to use the
REPLY TO ALL feature of your email program.
=====================================================

Harry Motin wrote:

> I have SBC/Yahoo DSL and I love it. The DSL comes into the SBC modem. From there
> it goes to a Netgear router. From the router in goes out to all the LAN computers on
> Cat5E ethernet wire.

. . .

> A. A homerun line is the best way to get DSL. The DSL/analog telephone
> filtering occurs outside your home in the telephone box. Inside your home your
> telphones will be free of any DSL high frequency noise. You will not have to use any
> inline filters on your telephones inside. Those inline filters sometimes don't work or are
> tricky to set up right

Hi Harry,

I still have the pre-Yahoo SBC DSL pkg., but plan to eventually drop them, probably in favor of
Extreme DSL. (There was a class-action lawsuit against SBC, for which I filled out the
paperwork quite awhile ago, and which was supposed to yield 2 or 3 months worth of free
service, but I never heard anything further about it.) I would give SBC a mediocre rating
overall. The main reasons I haven't left them yet -- in decreasing order of importance -- are:
1) Inertia, 2) They have not yet pulled the plug on us pre-Yahoo, Yahoo-pkg.-refusing
subscribers, something they have periodically threatened to do for a long time, & 3) I'd like
to cash in that aforementioned freebie before I leave, as recompense for the many service
outtages, slowdowns, and rather clueless Tech. Support.

I definitely have some DSL gizmos they installed inside (not referring to a router), for which
they drilled into a couple walls. It has not had any major deleterious effect on the phone
line, as best I can tell . . . but I still would have liked to know about the existence of
this "homerun line" option, way back when. Then again, it might not really have been an option
here, as I was apparently on the brink of the distance limit from their nearest central office.

> D. The ISP browers and software have settings, cookies, advertisements
> and other non-privacy features that you do not want (at least I don't). Also, their browers
> tend to be fat and run slowly.

This is the crux of the matter. I thought the whole deal with the SBC-Yahoo pkg. was that it
was "their way or the highway." Must be installed under Win, and then you have to use their
software. (How did you avoid this ?) All the better to track your movements wherever you go,
sell your info to whomever, and send targeted advertising your way. Plus, it would have meant
mail server changes, and possibly giving up my fixed IP. So, I decided to leave, sooner or
later. Sooner, if they forced the changeover as promised. I haven't priced it lately, but I
might be able to get a 768K service from Extreme for little more than I'm paying for 356K now.

> E. The software firewalls will further protect your system. The Injoy Pro
> and a second NIC will allow you to connect two (2) or more OS/2-type computers to
> your LAN and to the Internet without having to buy more software firewalls

I've heard it said that s/w firewalls are a redundant and interference-prone complication, and
all you really need is a good H/W firewall solution. I have seen some (Win) installations
using Norton Personal Firewall, and all the unnecessary red flag stoppages get to be a PITA
after awhile.

Jordan

=====================================================

To unsubscribe from this list, send an email message
to "steward@scoug.com". In the body of the message,
put the command "unsubscribe scoug-help".

For problems, contact the list owner at
"rollin@scoug.com".

=====================================================

Return to [ 30 | August | 2004 ]

SCOUG, Warp Expo West, and Warpfest are trademarks of the Southern California OS/2 User Group. OS/2, Workplace Shell, and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.